With the world poised to hit more than five million people officially dead from the coronavirus, experts say the pandemic's future path will depend greatly on vaccinations. How many dead? The true number of fatalities is believed to be far higher than the five million based on daily reports provided by health authorities in each country.
The World Health Organization estimates the overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records due to the excess mortality linked to Covid-19.
The Economist magazine looked at excess mortality and concluded around 17 million have died from Covid. "This figure seems more credible to me," Pasteur Institute epidemiologist Professor Arnaud Fontanet said.